Saturday, October 23, 2010

Finally was able to get back to some painting this month and just wrapped up this little landscape.

View From McIntosh Lake

Oil

8" x 10"

This painting will be on display at the Lakewood Arts Council's Community Art Center and Gallery beginning next week.

Another piece that is going into the gallery is this one. It originally was an 8" x 10" horizontal, but I was not content with the completed painting. I examined several cropping options and ultimately cut it down to this 5" x 7" vertical.

Sunday, August 15, 2010

What a perfect morning for painting outdoors! There was a light breeze; it was sunny and about 70 degrees. Ginger & I met in the Chatfield Denver Botanic Gardens parking lot. Our first location was on the south side of the building complex.

Ginger's first painting was the barn, silo and other buildings:

The colors on her piece are quite vibrant, more so than what shows in this photograph.

My first painting focused on the silo. This is very much like one my Norwegian grandfather built when he began farming in Iowa; the bricks are very similar, and his silo still stands after 100 years or so, although he is long gone. But I digress...

Here is the scene I painted:

And here is my painting after about 1-1/2 hours:

Update: Here is the final of the brick silo I finished in the studio.

We relocated to an area east of the building complex and found rolls of hay in a field.

We had a small visitor who seemed rather unafraid of humans:

He (or was it she?) moved on, and Ginger & I set up to paint. After about an hour, Ginger had come up with this:

She can really capture the light and dark patterns.

I selected this scene:

And here is my painting after an hour:

I was excited to paint this week, knowing it will be my last for a little while. I tackled the hayrolls piece and ended up with this final version.

We plan to return next week. There are so many painting opportunities at the Denver Botanic Gardens Chatfield location.

On this day, I painted on 5" x 7" panels of hardboard that I primed with neutral medium gray gesso and applied a layer of fine pumic gel after the gesso had dried. When that had dried, the panels were ready to be painted.

Sunday, August 8, 2010

Elk Meadow is an Open Space park in Jefferson County, along the Evergreen Parkway at Lewis Ridge Road, and about 5 miles from I-70 at Exit 252. We met about 8:30 am Sunday morning, and the parking lot was beginning to fill up with hikers, bikers, runners...you name it. It was just Ginger and me painting this day; we hiked a little way up the trail and set up to paint.

Ginger's first subject and painting:

Oil

My first painting was this scene of Elk Meadow:

I started on a piece of 5" x 7" hardboard that I had gessoed with a mid-tone, neutral gray. When the gesso had dried, I applied a layer of fine pumice gel for additional "tooth." This is a slight departure from panels I have used previously in the base color of the gesso. Other than that, it is identical.

And here is my painting after 1-1/2 hours:

Oil

5" x 7"

The wind kicked up after about 45 minutes, and I struggled to get the panel covered with paint without everything blowing away. I relocated to a calmer area and found the following scene to paint:

I really like the movement in this scene. It could be a future studio painting.

The panel I used for this piece was 8" x 10" archival linen that I primed with the mid-tone neutral gray gesso and followed up with a coat of the fine pumice gel.

Here is my painting after about an hour:

Oil

8" x 10"

In general I am satisfied with these two painting starts.

Ginger's second painting was of the clouds rolling over the mountains:

Saturday, August 7, 2010

I'm always happy when I can spend half a day painting, but when I finish a piece, it is even more rewarding. I recently was able to wrap up two paintings. One was from my Studio Atelier painting challenge blog, and the other was from my plein aire outing at the Bear Creek Greenbelt.

This is the Lily Pond painting challenge; I'll have to post a better photo after it dries and I can scan it. But this will have to do for now:

Lily Pond

8" x 10"

Oil

And here is the painting from the Bear Creek Greenbelt:

5" x 7"

Oil

I still need to some up with a title for this piece, let it dry, and then frame it.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Six of us arrived to paint: Ginger (our leader/coordinator), Sharon, Shirley, Barney and Karen, and I. We started early to try to get something done before it heated up too much.

My support was a 5x7 piece of hardboard panel that I didn't prime. I did apply a layer of the fine pumice gel all over it for some "tooth" and allowed it to dry before painting in oils. In retrospect, I should have primed it with something to ensure long term stability of the painting. Since this is, more a less, a field sketch, it probably isn't that important for ONE painting, but I definitely will prime the support on future pieces!

Kendrick Lake is an urban park in the City of Lakewood, east of Kipling and north of Jewell. The Bear Valley Church is situated along the west side of the lake, and we met in that general area. A trail about a mile long encircles the entire lake, so we had a lot of walkers (and their dogs) passing us by and stopping to visit. It was a really pleasant morning.

The scene I chose is shown below:

I did a thumbnail sketch for the major shapes. I tried out some new brushes made of different materials that are bigger than my usual tiny Kolinsky flats. In general, they were too soft for my taste, and I tried all of them in an attempt to get one that felt right. Although the brushes were giving me a bit of a fight, they were quite a bit larger than usual, and the paint went on rapidly.

After about 30 minutes, I switched to a No. 12 Escoda Kolinsky flat to add some detail and clean up some areas. The Escoda Kolinsky flat is my preferred brush; it has a great spring, provides excellent control, and is well made. However, Escoda Kolinsky brushes are pretty expensive, so I purchase them from online retailers only when they are on sale and I have a discount coupon.

The result is below:

I'm satisfied with the result after about an hour of painting. I'll let this dry, think about it, and eventually make some studio edits.

Shirley did a nice acrylic (sorry I didn't think to find out the size).

And Ginger completed one and was partway through her second when I left . . .

Sunday, July 11, 2010

This was the painting challenge for June on my Studio Atelier blog. I hope you like it. The actual painting took about four hours to complete, but the picture sat there for a month while I walked by or worked on other pieces. June is always very busy for us, so getting time to paint is a challenge in itself.

Carribean Paradise

5" x 7" oil on black gessoed Gatorbord

When I did finally sit down to work on it, I made a few thumbnail sketches before putting any paint on the support. Thumbnails are something I have done occasionally, but now I am trying to do them for every painting I start. My recent foray into plein aire with Ginger Lecher has shown me the value of doing thumbnails as it keeps me focused on the topic. It's hard to concentrate on a small piece of nature when I am immersed in its beauty.

We started out pretty early in the morning; I had scoped out the area the previous week, as had Ginger. It was just us two for painting.

Matthews Winter is an open space park traversed by many trails and with Mt. Vernon Creek running through it. The trails are designated as hiker only or bicyclist only, with some being shared. The park is immediately north of Red Rocks, tucked in the Mt. Vernon valley between the Dakota Hogback and the foothills north of Morrison, and south of I-70. It's important to pay attention to where you walk and keep an eye out for rattlesnakes. For our first setup, we stayed next to the parking lot. It was a beautiful Colorado morning, and the parking lot was nearly full when we arrived. Lots of folks were taking advantage of the gorgeous weather.

This area is very scenic; hence it is a challenge to focus on a small subject matter. This is when the VIEWFINDER comes in handy.

The following photograph is the scene I first tackled.

I painted on a 5 x 7 gatorbord primed with black gesso that also had a layer of pumice gel applied for additional tooth. I did not do a thumbnail sketch on this since I could easily see the large shapes. After an hour, this is what I had:

When I finished the session for this painting, this was how it looked:

Here is the completed painting of "Dinosaur Ridge" (finished in studio):

"Dinosaur Ridge"
Oil
5" x 7"

I put that painting away and started on a new board. This is the scene I chose:

I did a couple of thumbnail sketches for this one as the large shapes were hard for me to visualize with the sun approaching 11 am MDT.

These may not look like much, but they were enough to keep me on track with the general composition and shape configuration for the painting.

I painted an hour on this, took a short break and studied the painting, and then I added some detail line work. This is how it looked at that point:

Both of these paintings will go back to the studio for some editing, but I am generally happy with my morning of plein aire work.

Two paintings "finished" in a 4 hour time span. That's a record for me. I am by nature a very detail oriented person, so the plein aire sessions are helping me think about bigger shapes.

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

We had another great morning of painting, this time near the Old Stone House on the Bear Creek Greenbelt. I met Ginger, Shirley, Sharon, and June for a fun time. We were joined by June's friends Barney and Karen.

Once again, our leader Ginger gave great instruction and tips on improving our technique in the field. She painted in oil on a toned canvas panel. Shirley came with her acrylics and knocked out a couple of pretty fine pieces in the time we were there. Sharon started with her watercolors and did a couple of paintings; she then moved on to acrylics and made good progress. June completed a lovely landscape and said she would take it home and maybe do something else to it. It looked great as it was! We didn't get to see Barney and Karen's work as they left before we had a chance. Maybe next time!

We had perfect weather. We set up near a small lake with lots of neighboring cottonwoods, a gravel trail, a few clouds, and a gentle breeze. Lots of people were out biking, jogging, and walking their dogs. We were fortunate to find a picnic shelter that provided shade. By the time we packed up and ended our painting session, temperatures were climbing to the high 80's.

The following photograph was my subject for my first painting:

I worked in oil on black gessoed, 5" x 7" boards with pumice gel applied for some extra tooth. My first painting, which took an inordinately long time, was a struggle for me. It's probably part warming up and part not being focused enough on large shapes. I will have to edit my first piece a lot in the studio.

My second painting was more successful. There were a few large shapes that could be identified easily, so the paint was slapped on pretty quickly. I am quite satisfied with that one, for the moment. The following photograph is my subject:

Ginger has laid out a pretty efficient process for successful plein aire painting. Aside from the necessary gear for your particular medium, the two greatest aids, I have found, are a SMALL VIEWFINDER and doing a THUMBNAIL SKETCH before starting any painting in the field.

Other things to take on a plein aire outing include: sunscreen, bug repellent, hat, water, snack, and umbrella. It's great if you find a shady spot to stand while painting, but that umbrella comes in really handy if you're not so fortunate.

This is a learning process: - even our generous instructor is on a painting journey.

Update: Here is the completed painting after about an hour in the studio:

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Three of us painted at Prospect Park in Wheat Ridge. Ginger was our instructor. The weather was perfect. Everyone was out walking the trails, and any dogs that were there made a beeline for Clear Creek. They loved the water.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Recently completed this 4" x 6" oil from my monthly challenge blog Studio Atelier. This is the completed piece after it has dried and been varnished.

The motorcycles are from a photo taken in Washington, D.C. at the "Freedom Ride" gathering. The painting is on canvas mounted to Gatorbord; I covered the canvas with a couple of coats of black gesso, which I first used on the sparrows painting below. This has become my preferred surface for oils.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

I tried something new (for me) with this piece. Working on an 8" x 10" linen panel, I applied a layer of black gesso, allowed it to dry, and sketched my drawing onto it with a very light grey colored pencil. The painting will go on top of this drawing, so I sprayed it with a workable fixative to prevent any bleed-through:

After studying this stage of my painting, I decided to modify the right picket, turning it into a fence post in order to better direct the viewer's eye into the painting. I sketched this change onto the panel using a light pink colored pencil.

Again, I sprayed the board with workable fixative and was satisfied with this layout.

The completed oil painting:

"Warming Up"

Oil on Linen Panel

8" x 10"

Painting on the black background seemed to make the painting go faster. The black background automatically created shadow when I applied lighter oil paint. I will use this technique on future pieces.

Cosmos Cat Project websiteMy husband and I recently sold our home in the Denver area and are setting up our new home (and my studio!). I will resume the BenikArts blog in September 2016.All comments will be reviewed before they are posted.

I hope you enjoy this blog, and thank-you for visiting!

About The Artist

Barb Benik works in oils, pencil, acrylics, and watercolor. She is a member of Plein Air Artists Colorado, Lakewood Arts Council (LAC) and the 40 West Arts District. If you would like to find out more about Barb Benik, please visit her website at www.barbbenik.com for more information.